The trial of a Medford, Oregon, man accused of killing his girlfriend has been delayed for five months at the request of prosecutors. Under the state's Measure 11 law, the 51-year-old man faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years in prison if he's found guilty of murder.
The man's defense attorney said the man was suffering extreme mental and emotional disturbance when his 48-year-old girlfriend died. That criminal defense strategy led prosecutors to request more time to prosecute the case. The defense attorney objected to the delay, but the judge overruled her. "My defense caused them to investigate more out-of-town witnesses, and they asked for more time," the attorney said.
It was March 2011 when police entered the man's apartment after being called by his brother. They found the victim dead and the man locked inside the bathroom, threatening to kill himself. A three-hour standoff ensued, and when he finally walked out, the man was suffering from several self-inflicted knife wounds. He was ordered to be evaluated by mental health doctors at Oregon State Hospital in December and more mental health experts are expected to testify for the defense at his trial.
Until then, the defendant, who has no history of violent crimes, is being held without bail in the Jackson County Jail. Although five months isn't considered a long enough delay to violate his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial, many defendants are forced to wait for years to have their day in court. The U.S. Supreme Court has a four-part balancing test to determine whether the right to a speedy trial has been violated. It includes the length of the delay, the reason for the delay, the time and manner in which the defendant asserts his right, and the degree of prejudice to the defendant that the delay causes. If the court finds that the defendant's right was violated, the case must be dismissed.
The central issue in this case will likely be the defendant's mental health at the time of the killing. Prosecutors in this case are presumably asking for a delay to gather their own mental health experts to counter the defense's mental illness argument.
Source: Mail Tribune, "Below trial is delayed 5 months," Sanne Specht, March 13, 2012
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